Tyra Banks admits she spent too much time chasing unsuccessful music career

Tyra Banks pursued a singing career from 1998 to 2004. (Evan Agostini/Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Tyra Banks is a model for success — just not in the music industry.

The catwalk superstar released a few songs more than a decade ago but admits she devoted too much time to pursuing a singing career that never really materialized.

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"I didn't have a dream to be a model; I was discovered and realized I was good at it and continued to work hard and hone a craft that was already in my nature," Banks told Entertainment Weekly. "With singing it was like, 'Oh my gosh, look at J.Lo! That looks so fun!' There's a difference. I kept pushing (for) six years."

Musical triumph never came for Banks, however, even as she worked with star producers such as Pharrell Williams. She only released one solo single, "Shake Ya Body," in 2004, and also recorded a song for her 2000 movie, "Life-Size," while performing the hook on a song by Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant titled "K.O.B.E."

Banks ultimately chased her musical dreams from 1998 to 2004 before moving on.

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"That was my tenacity and tunnel vision and 'don't give up' attitude. When you mix that with something that isn't your calling, that's when it can get a little dangerous," Banks said. "It should have been six months, not six years. But because I had such focus, I continued to go down a path that was not meant for me."

Despite her lack of success, Banks says Pharrell had high hopes for her. She worked with the producer on a song called "Playboy," she tells EW, but failed to get the job done when it was time to record.

"Pharrell believed in me, man. … He had to rent that (studio). He invested money in me, and here I am, I can't even get the damn notes out," Banks said. "He was like, 'You got this, just loosen up! It's okay!' But it never became okay. The crazy thing is a lot of it was in my head. I'd go home and sing it so well."

This isn't the first time Banks — whose modeling career included an eight-year stint as a Victoria's Secret Angel and a pair of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit covers — has opened up about her past lately. She also admits in her new book about getting a nose job early in her career.